May is National Osteoporosis Awareness & Prevention Month

What is Osteoporosis and does it affect anyone and everyone?
Osteoporosis is common and is a medical condition in which the bones start to deteriorate, becoming weak and easily breakable. An accidental fall can cause a hip to break, or in serious cases, even something as small as a sneeze may cause a bone to break. In America, about 10 million people suffer from the condition, and even more are at risk. Breaking a bone is very serious and even more serious when you're older.

About half of women who are 50 years of age and older are more at risk to break a bone. In men, the risk is at 1 in 4 men.

Breaking a bone is very serious and extremely painful. Many bones are breakable, but due to osteoporosis, the breaks will most likely occur in the hip, wrist, and spine. When the bones of the spine start to collapse, you may notice that your posture has changed and you are possibly now hunched or stooped. It has been stated that 20% of seniors who break a bone have passed away in the next year due to problems related to the broken bone or from repairable surgery.

Thankfully a bone mineral density test can tell if you have weak bones.

How will my doctor detect and diagnose Osteoporosis?
You doctor will suggest for you to take different tests, in order to fully determine if you are suffering from osteoporosis. Although osteoporosis is not curable, it is treatable.

The following steps (may take one or all steps) will help determine your risk of breaking a bone:
- Bone Density Test
- Physical Examination
- Medical History
- Laboratory Test
- Frax® Score

Depending on your test results, you may may need to take additional tests, such as:
- Bone Scans
- X-Rays
- Vertebral Fracture Assessments (VFAs)

Bone Density Test
This is the only test that can diagnose osteoporosis before breaking a bone occurs. The purpose for this test is to estimate the density in your bones and also your chance of breaking any bones.

Physical Examination
If you are over 50 years old, you should have your height measured annually, without any shoes on, in order to determine any height loss or curvature of your spine. This should be done at the same healthcare providers office each time for accuracy.

Medical History
Your healthcare provider will take a look at the following factors in order to better understand your risk:
- Age
- Gender
- Personal history of any broken bones as an adult
- Family history of and broken bones and osteoporosis
- Exercise and physical habits, which includes your Vitamin D and Calcium intake
- Eating disorders, such as anorexia
- Regular periods (premenopausal women)
- Menopausal women (if applicable)
- Tobacco and alcohol consumption
- Any medication that may cause bone loss
- Testosterone levels (men)

Laboratory Test
Tests from the laboratory, including blood and urine can be used to identify possible bone loss, such as:
- 24-hour calcium measurement
- Blood calcium levels
- Vitamin D - to check if the body has enough
- Parathyroid hormone test
- thyroid function test
- Biochemical marker tests (NTX and CTX)

Frax® Score
Frax stands for Fracture Risk Assessment, which is a test done to show osteopenia, which is low bone density. This specific test can estimate your chance of breaking a bone for the next 10 years, which would make it easier to decide if you should be taking osteoporosis medication.

The following 3 conditions can be used to guide decisions about treatment in people:
- People with low bone density (osteopenia)
- People who have not taken osteoporosis medicine
- Postmenopausal women or men, 50 years of age or older

Treatment
After reviewing your results, your healthcare provider can develop a protection plan for your bones. You can take further steps to slow down or stop bone loss, if you have already broken a bone due to osteoporosis. Many people are on osteoporosis medication.

Prevention
Your Vitamin D and Calcium intake is very important, on a daily basis, in order to maintain healthy and strong bones, also including regular exercise. Of course eating vegetables and fruits are also healthy for your bones.

Eating poorly, smoking, drinking too much alcohol and not exercising can cause bone loss and osteoporosis.

Remember that you can live well with osteoporosis!

For more information on osteoporosis, please visit the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Information provided by the National Osteoporosis Foundation at http://www.nof.org/home .